New York State Division of Consumer Protection
Secretary
of State, Robert J. Rodriguez says, “Child Identity Theft is a disturbing trend
as children are 35 times more likely to become victims of identity theft than
adults”
National
Child Identity Theft Awareness Day was recently established to generate
awareness of a growing trend affecting families and children
The Division of Consumer
Protection (DCP) urges parents to take preventative actions to safeguard their
children’s identities. Child Identity Theft is a growing problem. According to
recent data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), identity theft for those
under 19 years old grew 60% in three years.
“Child Identity Theft is a
disturbing trend as children are 35 times more likely to become victims of
identity theft than adults,” said Secretary
of State Robert J Rodriguez, who oversees the Division of
Consumer Protection. “The widespread adoption of technology products has
introduced new challenges to parenthood. Parents must now also learn the
behaviors that put children more at risk, how to protect them, and what to do
when children become targeted.”
READ MORE: Consumer Alert: New York State Division of Consumer Protection Offers Online Safety Tips for the Start of the New School Year
Today’s children have been
raised in a digital world and unlike past generations, their exposure to these
technologies starts very young and makes them vulnerable to the dangers that
lurk in technology’s shadows. The scale of the issue keeps growing under the
increasing influence of digital technology, excessive screen time, social
media, remote learning, and digital purchases in our lives. Products used by
children are not nearly as privacy protected as they should be and contribute
to the growing problem of Child Identity Theft. According to the FTC, Child
Identity Theft occurs when someone uses a child's personal information to
wrongfully get services or benefits, or to commit fraud.
The Impact of Child ID
Theft:
Child ID fraud is expensive and
detrimental. According to a study by Javelin Strategy and Research,
fixing child identity theft takes longer to resolve than fraud against adults
and costs the average U.S. family $372 out-of-pocket on top of any fraudulent
charges. In one year, fraud losses linked to child identity theft totaled $918
million. The crime of child identity theft may go on longer than other
types of identity theft, because young children are less likely to use credit
or take steps to help protect their identities. Someone whose identity is
stolen as a child can feel the effects for years resulting in financial losses
and missed opportunities. As a young adult, they may encounter problems
securing a student loan, a first credit card, apartment, or utilities. The best
approach is to prevent it and look for warning signs to protect your child’s
credentials.
Warning Signs to Look
For:
- Pre-approved
credit offers in your child’s name: this is a sign that someone else has
used your child’s social security number to fraudulently obtain credit
- Any
communication addressed to your child from the IRS
- Collection
calls or past-due notices in your child’s name
- Marketing
offers for products and services that arrive in your child’s name
Tips For Parents/Guardians
to Safeguard Children’s Identities:
Consider freezing your
child’s credit.
Security freezes are free but must be placed separately with each of the three
nationwide credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). The process
varies between credit bureaus, but it’s not difficult and takes far less time
and effort to freeze your child’s credit than to remediate a fraud case after
the fact.
Make ID theft
prevention a habit.
Securely store all your child’s foundational identity documents (birth
certificate, Social Security card, insurance cards) away from people in your
circle. Any paper or electronic record that includes your child’s Social
Security number should be stored securely, whether that means in
password-protected, encrypted cloud storage or a locked file cabinet or safe.
Set reasonable
boundaries around technology and monitor online activities. For many children, the line between the
physical and virtual worlds is already blurry. Children with unrestricted and
unmonitored internet access are at greater risk of experiencing the exposure of
their personal information. Children’s information is collected in many places,
including social media platforms, smart devices, video games and mobile
applications are also gathering their information. Given the rise of data
breaches, children’s identities are increasingly at risk of being exposed on
the dark web and online forums where identities are illegally bought and sold.
- Make
sure that kids are registered as under 13 on the sites and applications
they use. This limits the data that can
be collected on them and the content they see.
- Take
hardware and software seriously. Buy
products only from reputable companies, installing software updates
immediately when available and restricting data collection to the
strictest settings a service allows.
- Secure
Your Child’s Cell Phone: If you've trusted your child
with a smartphone, make sure their device is as secure as possible by
adjusting settings for location, screen time, passcodes, and more.
- Online
Games: ensure kids play in disguise
with a cool safe game name and don’t share personal information on gaming
account profiles
- Internet
Connected Toys: Parents must be present when
toys are being set-up. Some toys come equipped with microphones, voice
recognition, GPS enabled wearables and artificial intelligence that allow
software interaction between the child and the toy. Many can put a child’s
privacy at risk. For tips on privacy precautions with technology toys,
please see information from this December 2020 Consumer Alert.
- Social
Media: Make sure your social media
account is set to ‘private’. Most social media is public by default.
Empower children to
practice online safety:
- Involve kids
in routine privacy practices, such as creating safe passwords in a
password manager or keeping up with online safety news.
- Remind kids
that they can come to you when a questionable situation arises when they
are online.
- Talk to kids
about keep everything updated: make sure that all devices, software, and
firmware are up to date.
What to do if your
child is a victim of ID theft:
- If you
notice fraudulent activities on your child’s credit report, don’t waste
time. Immediately file an identity theft report with the FTC at
identitytheft.gov and your local police department. The police are
required to provide identity theft victims with one free copy of the
incident report.
- Contact each
credit reporting agency to report the theft and place a freeze on your
child’s credit record to prevent further damage.
- Contact
every business where your child’s information was misused, ask to close
the fraudulent account and flag it to show it is a result of identity
theft.
- Contact the
NYS Division of Consumer Protection’s Identity Theft Prevention and
Mitigation Program, which serves to help victims by walking through the
steps necessary to recover from the damages of identity theft.
The New York State Division of
Consumer Protection provides resources and education materials to consumers on
product safety, as well as voluntary mediation services between consumers and
businesses. The Consumer Assistance Helpline 1-800-697-1220 is available Monday
to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm, excluding State Holidays, and consumer
complaints can be filed at any time at www.dos.ny.gov/consumer-protection.
For more consumer protection
tips, follow the Division on social media at Twitter: @NYSConsumer and
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nysconsumer.